Uncomfortable Cambridge

01/11/2024

🍂🍁 Looking for an outdoor autumnal activity this weekend? 🍂🍁

Join us for a stroll through Cambridge and discuss hidden and under explored histories throughout the city and university. See the sights while also engaging in an academic led conversation on the legacies of colonialism, slavery, gender inequality, and elitism.

🍂 Link in bio to book! 🍂

29/10/2024

🔎 Who recognizes where this 'Ode to To***co' sign is? 🔎

Learn more about the sign and its history in a new blog post by Richard Parnell entitled 'The Pleasures and Perils of Smoking in Calverley's 'Ode to To***co''.

If you're interested in keeping up with our blogs about Cambridge, make sure you sign up for our Newsletter! Link in bio for the blog + sign ups.

27/10/2024

For our last Black History Month post, we want to highlight some people who are working to shape the lives of Black students and citizens at Cambridge in the present and future!

Stormzy, a British rapper, singer, and songwriter, has initiated a Stormzy Scholarship program. Since 2018, his foundation has been offering funding to Black UK home students at the University.

Stormzy is just one example of many people and groups working to shape Black history. For some of our posts this past month, and in our tours, we rely on the work of the Black Cantabs, a group who's aim is to put Black students in the University's past, present, and future. Other posts have depend on families and communities coming together to make sure stories and spaces are remembered.

As the month comes to a close, we hope that you remember that Black history doesn't end in October.

📸 University of Cambridge.

18/10/2024

This week for Black History Month, we're highlighting stories of the firsts in the town and the University!

🍻🏡 Albert Gordon - He is the first Black pub owner in Cambridge. Albert immigrated to England in the 1960 from Jamaica. He would end up running the Midland Tavern on Devonshire rd, which quickly became a community hub and space. People from all backgrounds would gather, including from the LGBTQ+ community and Irish labourers. The pub remains a space for community still!

🖊📜 Alexander Crummell - Alexander Crummell is the first fully recorded Black student to attend Cambridge, meaning we have both his matriculation and graduation records. He went to Englang in 1847 and would graduate from Wueens in 1853. He was, and woudl remain, an influential abolitionist and thinker. Today, he is the only Black student to have attended Cambridge that has a portrait in the Vice Chancellor's office. You can learn more about Crummell's legacy on our Original Tour!

15/10/2024

🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️ Who remembers the launch of our Hidden Histories tour last year? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

Our tour uncovers the untold and overlooked stories of LGBTQ+ individuals and women throughout the city. Explore the landmarks and hidden spots that reveal the struggles, triumphs, and legacies of marginalised communities in shaping Cambridge’s cultural and academic landscape. From groundbreaking women scholars to pivotal LGBTQIA+ figures, this tour offers a fresh and inclusive perspective on the city’s past. Perfect for history enthusiasts and those seeking a deeper, more inclusive narrative of Cambridge.

📍Check out our website for more information on these tours

13/10/2024

If you want to open the door to a new opportunity in your life, why not write for us? We’re looking for short articles of 800 to 1800 words on all aspects of uncomfortable history in the cities we cover; that could be reviewing an event or exhibition, exploring the deep backstory of a controversy that’s in the news, or shining a light on a fascinating forgotten individual.

We’re particularly keen to publish more on Cambridge right now, and pay £30 per article accepted for publication. If you have an idea you’re keen to pitch or would like more information, then just drop a message to [email protected].

11/10/2024

We are continuing to celebrate Black History Month!

This week, we wanted to highlight the first Black woman to be admitted to Cambridge: Amy Ida Louise King. She attended Girton College from 1903-1906, studying MML.

04/10/2024

As part of Black History Month, we're featuring prominent Black figures in Cambridge!

To kick it off, we would like to highlight Olaudah Equiano, who was formerly enslaved and became a prominent abolitionist and writer. Equiano settled in Cambridgeshire, where he and his family our buried.

For a way to see Equiano's legacy in Cambridge check out a portrait of Equiano and his family at the Fitzwilliam. This painting, by the artist Joy Labinjo, imagines what a family portrait would look like. Labinjo's work aims to celebrate often undocumented or forgotten Black British people.

Check out the painting at the Fitzwilliam, or learn more about Equiano and the history of abolitionism at Cambridge on our newly re-named Cambridge and Colonialism tour!

📍Link in Bio for our website and more information.

📸 The British Library, own image

03/10/2024

🍂🍁 We're happy to announce our upcoming tour schedule for October 🍂🍁

Head over to our website for dates and times! We hope to see you soon! 🍁

30/09/2024

We're excited to announce that we will be presenting at the event Blach History Month: Reclaiming Histories!

Join us Wednesday, October 2nd, as we uncover the city's hidden narratives, connect the multiple identities of its people, and consider how learning from these histories can inspire stronger, more connected communities today.

Tickets are free but to RSVP reserve a spot through eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/allia-community-day-black-history-month-tickets-1013473706137?aff=oddtdtcreator

27/09/2024

🎉 Name Change Announcement 🎉

Our Academics and Empire tour has been renamed to Cambridge and Colonialism! Visit our website to see the new name and book into a tour that explores Cambridge's colonial legacy and its presence in the architecture of the city and beyond.

📍Link in Bio

19/09/2024

Did you know as a student you get 25% all of our tours?

Check out our website for more information!

📍Link in bio!

17/09/2024

🎉 Welcome Back students 🎉

We're so excited to welcome new and returning students from and .

We hope to see you on one of our tours!

16/09/2024

🍁🍂 Check out our autumnal offerings 🍁🍂

Walk the history of Cambridge differently with us this fall and check out one of our 4 tours.

📍Original Tour, meet @ outside of King's - For those interested in a different tour of Cambridge, the Uncomfortable Cambridge tour engages with historical memory and highlights diverse stories in the beautiful city centre.

📍 Uncomfortable Science, Whipple Museum - Learn more about the 'Uncomfortable' side of science while exploring the collection of the Whipple Museum.

📍 Academics and Empire, meet @ the Round Church - Join us on a tour exploring the historic connections between Cambridge and the British Empire.

📍Hidden Histories, meet @ the University Arms Hotel - Unearth the stories of those who are often left out of traditional narratives of Cambridge: Women, people of colour, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Interested in any of these tours? Click the link in our bio to learn more and book!

14/09/2024

Looking for some Saturday morning reading? Check out this recent article on a commeration of Cromwell in St. Ives

The article calls Cromwell's legacy controversial: "He was - and remains - one of the most controversial figures in British history, largely due to his brutal military conquest over England's neighbours".

What do we think of this quick summary of his legacy? or his continued celebration?

Let us know in the comments below or on one of our tours!

In a break from a 75-year Westminster tradition, the service will be held in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.

10/09/2024

📸 Screenshot of this mention of our tours in Cambridge and Oxford (Uncomfortable Oxford ) in Adventure!

The article highlights the amazing work of founded by Ruth Pion in the Dominican Republic. In a quote, Pion states "My work is not neutral, I am not objective. To take on the myth of neutrality would lead to things staying much the same."

We couldn't be more honored to be mentioned in an article featuring someone so dedicated and forceful!

📍 Check out the full article on Adventure's website 📍

09/09/2024

📸 Action shots from our Highlights tour running during Open Days!

🔎 Does anyone know who's portrait is being shown in the second photo? 🔎

08/09/2024

It's been so fun meeting everyone this weekend! ✨

We've had packed tours every day so far!